ALERT 2-16-18: Re-think general ledger accounts due to changes in the deductibility of entertainment expenses in 2018. by Gregory S. Dowell The new tax act (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) was passed so late in December that very few business owners have had the opportunity to absorb some of the impacts. One of the changes…
by Gregory S. Dowell March 8, 2018 A recent IRS private letter ruling (PLR 201809009) indicates that an organization’s 501(c)(3) status can be revoked for failing to file an employment tax return, and for failing to respond to various IRS inquiries about the failure to file. In this particular case, the organization filed W-2 forms…
by Gregory S. Dowell September 7, 2017 Having a firm grasp on financial performance is a fundamental of every good business, and effective accounting systems don’t just happen, they come with planning. Owners who are using their professionals wisely and strategically will have consulted a CPA firm during the early planning stages of the…
By Gregory S. Dowell August 10, 2017 Quietly and with virtually no advanced warning, Cook County passed the “Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance” (Ordinance 16-4229). This ordinance provides that, as of July 1, 2017, employers in Cook County are required to provide paid sick leave to their employees. Making this more confusing, many municipalities…
Leases: Critical Changes to GAAP that Affect Financial Statements Gregory S. Dowell Timothy Delany October 6, 2016 Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-02 made historic changes to the way leases are reported on the financial statements for generally accepted accounting purposes. This is no small issue, as most organizations are exposed in some way to leases,…
Should a Business Consider Outsourcing Its Accounting Services? By Gregory S. Dowell The outsourcing trend has been around for a couple of decades in the business community and has affected a broad range of services that companies once met with embedded employees. For example, technology jobs have been outsourced (in some cases overseas) as have…
Cloud Computing and Remote Access – Changing How a Business Interacts with its CPA Firm by Gregory S. Dowell, CPA Maintaining good accounting records – consider “good” to mean current and accurate – is a basic service that CPA firms have provided for years to their business clients. Many small businesses rely on their CPAs to…
S Corporations: Wages Paid to Shareholders Must Be Reasonable By Gregory S. Dowell Shareholders of S corporations who provide services to the S corporation must take a reasonable salary. After all, S corporations are supposed to be a separate legal entity; why would anyone work for free? The law is very simple and very logical,…
Basic Business Credit Card Internal Controls By Gary Lasker It is a common practice for business organizations to issue credit cards to employees in order to facilitate the purchase of goods and to document travel and entertainment expenses. Along with all other business transactions, there should be a thorough accounting and proper tracking of all…
Worker Classification – Employee or Independent Contractor? By Jan Wright, CPA Staffing decisions are at the core of every business. The decision of how large a workforce is needed to perform the services and produce the products that generate revenues for an entity is a complex and ongoing process that may well determine whether or…